


kiss me (like you wanna be loved)

by ifthebookdoesntsell



Series: what the flames can build (aka chefs au) [3]
Category: The Prom (2020), The Prom - Sklar/Beguelin/Martin
Genre: Alternate Universe - Chefs, Chefs AU, F/F, First Time, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Second (First) Kiss, Sort Of, greenelan - Freeform, nothing super super explicit (yet lmao)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-12 18:22:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29513841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ifthebookdoesntsell/pseuds/ifthebookdoesntsell
Summary: “You want a try?” Emma looks over at her curiously, a blush forming on her cheeks when she sees how intently Alyssa’s dark eyes are moving over her face.Alyssa snaps out of it. “Sure.” She takes some flour from the counter, patting it on her palms as Emma moves aside to give her space.“I was thinking they should be a few inches across, but not totally square,” Emma tells her. “Then, you just cut them in half and roll.”“Okay.” Alyssa’s voice has dialed down so it’s almost a whisper. She can’t focus with Emma so close.Which is stupid.Because Emma is her best friend.Who she’s in love with,a tiny voice adds. Alyssa shakes it off.(Or, the one with the second (first) kiss mentioned in Challenge Four: Prom.)
Relationships: Alyssa Greene/Emma Nolan
Series: what the flames can build (aka chefs au) [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2151474
Comments: 8
Kudos: 56





	kiss me (like you wanna be loved)

**Author's Note:**

> hey y'all! you thought i would leave you hanging on chefs au? never. here's a bit more content for them (because i love them so much). if you haven't read the story yet, i highly encourage you to do so before reading this, but this can also stand alone. 
> 
> obviously, rating is higher than the normal story, so... yeah. anyway, this got way softer than i originally intended it to be, and i hope you like it!
> 
> thanks for reading!
> 
> (title from kiss me by ed sheeran, which, imo, would be one of greenelan's wedding songs just saying.)

Alyssa hums to herself, stirring sauce in the pan while Emma folds their last bit of dough on the counter. 

They’re trying different shapes for the croissants, unsure which will turn out best, but after waiting almost four hours to even be able to bake the dough, they’re going to try every option under the sun. 

“Prisoner of Azkaban is still my favorite,” Emma tells her, grinning in that way that makes the corners of her eyes crinkle. 

Alyssa’s heart picks up its pace at the sight even though it doesn’t have any right to do so. 

“I mean, it’s objectively the best,” Alyssa agrees. “But Deathly Hallows Hermione could punch me in the face.” 

Emma laughs out loud at that. 

Warmth spreads through Alyssa as quick as lightning. 

She turns off the fire on the caramel sauce, shifting it onto a cool burner before she wanders over to where her best friend is still cutting, folding, and rolling. 

“You want a try?” Emma looks over at her curiously, a blush forming on her cheeks when she sees how intently Alyssa’s dark eyes are moving over her face. 

Alyssa snaps out of it. “Sure.” She takes some flour from the counter, patting it on her palms as Emma moves aside to give her space. 

“I was thinking they should be a few inches across, but not totally square,” Emma tells her. “Then, you just cut them in half and roll.” 

“Okay.” Alyssa’s voice has dialed down so it’s almost a whisper. She can’t focus with Emma so close.

Which is stupid. 

Because Emma is her best friend. 

_ Who she’s in love with,  _ a tiny voice adds. Alyssa shakes it off. 

She grabs a knife from the drawer instead of saying anything more, following Emma’s instructions. It’s only when she’s cut all her pieces that she stares down at the dough, unsure which direction should be folding and rolling. 

“Now what?” she asks softly. She tries her best not to look at Emma. She doesn’t know why everything suddenly feels so tense. 

“Go from the long side to the short side,” Emma instructs, laughing quietly when Alyssa’s eyebrows shoot into her hair as she tries to understand. “Here.” She presses closer, suddenly, reaching across to put her hands over Alyssa’s, chin on her shoulder. 

Alyssa squeezes her eyes shut for a moment. Emma’s scent is comforting. She smells like vanilla and sandalwood, like… home. She swallows hard, quivering slightly when fingers intertwine with hers, folding the dough over into a perfect swirl. 

“There you go,” Emma whispers, right in her ear, breath warm against her skin. “Just so you know, I did five while you were struggling with one.” Her voice is teasing and light, and if Alyssa were in the business of doing anything but resisting the temptation to turn in Emma’s grasp and kiss her right now, she might have a quip to reply with. 

Instead, she coughs, trying not to blush too hard. This has started to happen more often when they’re alone, without their friends. They’ll get caught like this, so close, a sort of unspoken agreement between them that there’s something there but both too afraid to do anything. 

“So we’re done then?” Alyssa asks. “We can put them in the oven and hope they don’t explode?”

Emma laughs. “Yeah.” She releases Alyssa from her grasp at that, redness on her cheeks. Alyssa pays no mind to it. It’s probably from the heat of the kitchen. 

They look at each other for a moment, and Emma pushes her glasses up the bridge of her nose in lieu of saying anything else. There’s a heaviness in Alyssa’s chest as she stares back, so many moments of past just like this flickering through her with a sudden mantra of  _ what if,  _ of  _ maybe.  _

Maybe Emma feels the same way. 

What if it isn’t her imagination. 

“It says twenty minutes on the recipe,” Alyssa blurts out instead, stupidly breaking the moment. It’s easier like this. It’s easier not to know. 

“I know.” Emma nods. Neither of them move for barely a second before they snap back to reality. “I’ll carry two, and you can carry two.” The blonde gestures to the four pans they’ve assembled with varying shapes and sizes. 

Alyssa lets out a breath. “Okay.”

_ God. Could she say anything else? _

She shakes off the embarrassment, stepping forward to grab the two Emma pointed to as hers. 

“You can set it at the top,” Alyssa tells her, gesturing to the touchpad. “It goes by five minute increments.”

Emma grins. “This may be the first time you’ve ever let me set it.” She taps away. “One might think you’re going soft, Greene.”

Alyssa laughs. “You wish, Nolan.”

Emma raises an eyebrow at her teasingly but says nothing more, pulling the oven open for Alyssa as she goes to grab the remaining two baking sheets from the counter. 

Alyssa steps back to give her room, watching as Emma shuts the oven, the creak of the metal the only sound between them, now. She finds support against the counter, resting her elbows on it behind her. 

Suddenly, the tension is back. Every bit of air around them is drenched in a perfect kind of softness, filled with understanding and electricity. 

Emma chuckles, adjusting her glasses again the way she does when she’s nervous. “What should we do in the meantime?” she asks, trying to fill the silence. 

A hazel gaze meets a brown one nervously. 

All Alyssa can think is how pretty Emma’s eyes are, how wise they seem, how gentle, how easily she would drown in them if given the chance, the choice. 

She swallows hard, trying to breathe, though it seems like most of the oxygen has been sucked from the room. 

“Well,” she tries to reply. “We still have the second part of—“

Emma doesn’t let her finish. Instead, she strides forward, fitting herself evenly and confidently into Alyssa’s space until all that exists in the world is each other, until not even the limited air in the room can fit between them. 

If Alyssa thought she couldn’t breathe before, now, she’s certain that if something doesn’t change quick she may completely forget how. 

Gently, Emma presses even closer, placing a hand beside her to support herself on the counter, leaning forward until their noses are brushing. 

_ “Emma,”  _ Alyssa gasps softly, heat and shivers rushing through her.  _ “I—“  _

_ Don’t do it if you don’t mean it,  _ she begs silently.  _ Please. Please don’t—  _

Emma looks back at her, strong and sure and soft all at once. 

_ I mean it.  _

Alyssa’s breath stutters. “Emma—“ 

She doesn’t know why she says it again. No other words will come out, though. Emma is all she can see, all she can feel, all she can think. 

Her knees feel shaky, and everything inside her is turning upside down. 

_ Hold onto me if you’re scared.  _ Emma’s voice rings through her as she suddenly remembers that time they went to the rollercoaster park in South Bend. She’d been so terrified, but Emma had been there, had promised to keep her safe. 

Alyssa suddenly has the urge to laugh. If she thought she was terrified then, she has no idea what she’s feeling now.  This moment tops that rollercoaster by a thousand, makes her stomach turn and flip with fear and excitement as Emma envelops every part of her, inches the tiniest bit closer until she can almost feel lips on hers. 

_ Hold onto me if you’re scared. _

Alyssa grabs Emma’s free hand where it was hanging aimlessly. Emma squeezes back.

_ “Emma,”  _ she murmurs again, eyes flickering down to soft lips before she looks back up, heart in her throat when she expects to see the familiar mix of green and gold and instead finds a darkness, a sureness. 

Alyssa’s heart stutters inside of her chest. There are more words glued on the inside of her throat, but it doesn’t even matter that she never says them, because before she can even struggle to unstick them, Emma’s lips are on hers and she seems to take in all the words in a single breath as she kisses her.

Just like last time, Alyssa’s entire world freezes.

Perfectly. 

Wonderfully. 

Her heart settles in her chest, finds solace in how easily right this feels, a soft sort of understanding rushing through her. 

Emma tastes of chocolate, of light, and suddenly, all the oxygen that Alyssa was missing in her lungs is traded from Emma’s into hers. 

It makes her wonder if she was even breathing before any of this, if she’s even  _ been _ breathing since five years ago in the JMHS gym when they’d gotten caught up in the heat of a moment just like this and had kissed for the first time. 

Emma moves into her space further, dropping Alyssa’s hand from where it was still squeezed tight in hers so that she can hold her face instead, gently tracing the slope of her jaw before she cups her cheeks. 

Alyssa smiles at the movement, reaching up so that she can wrap an arm around Emma’s shoulders. 

She feels Emma grin in return, and it wracks shivers through her, makes her kiss back harder, makes her tangle her other hand in soft blonde hair and scratch at Emma’s scalp until there’s a gasp against her lips.

_ “Fuck,”  _ Emma mumbles into her mouth, and just like that, lightning strikes deep in Alyssa’s chest.

She hums in reply, ready to make another move when suddenly, the hands that were holding her face move again until they’re skimming down her sides and then back up her thighs. The touch is somehow innocent, but Alyssa’s body still reacts involuntarily as she realizes what’s about to happen. 

Her insides turn to jelly when Emma uses some unknown strength to lift her onto the counter. She steps between her legs in the same move, tipping her head back slightly so she can kiss Alyssa properly again. 

“I’ve been wanting this for five years,” Emma finally whispers, breaking heavy, perfect silence. “I just didn’t know if you—“

“I’ve wanted it too,” Alyssa interrupts, pulling back slightly so she can look at her best friend properly. “I just didn’t know what to say.”

“Me neither,” the woman replies “I didn't want to lose you.”

“You would never,” Alyssa assures. 

At that, Emma kisses her again. 

This time, it’s hungrier, deeper, and when Emma presses her tongue into the kiss, Alyssa swears she feels her heart stop.

She tightens the hold her legs have around Emma’s middle, smiling to herself when Emma laughs into it, hands still rested on her thighs. 

This feels good. 

This feels right. 

Alyssa isn’t sure that she’s ever thought that to be so true of something, not like this. 

“God, you’re so pretty,” Emma breathes, and Alyssa suddenly understands the concept of having butterflies. 

Her chest feels heavy and light as one of Emma’s hands grows more adventurous, moving up her thigh and wandering under the hem of her top, fingers ghosting over soft skin. Alyssa tries not to fixate too hard on the movement, but then, there’s pressure on the dimples at the base of her spine, and she can’t help it as she whimpers quietly. 

_ “Emma,”  _ she gasps, heat pooling in her gut as the woman smirks and repeats the motion. 

Embarrassment rushes through Alyssa as she groans again, as she relaxes against Emma until they’re barely kissing, lips just skimming against the other’s as she tries to catch her breath. 

Emma’s nails scrape gently over the spot again as she pulls back, and Alyssa’s throat is suddenly tight, heart beating rough and quick in her chest when kisses are suddenly being placed along the line of her jaw, down the column of her neck. 

She hooks her chin over Emma’s shoulder, silently asking for more, rolling her eyes affectionately when Emma smirks, clearly self satisfied. 

“Shut up,” she mumbles, breathless. 

“I didn’t say anything,” Emma replies, breath hot against her skin as she nips at Alyssa’s pulse point. 

“Well, whatever you were thinking,” Alyssa complains, another quiet noise tearing from her throat when Emma’s mouth moves lower to where her neck meets her shoulder, tugging her top aside slightly. 

“What was I thinking?” Emma asks, voice drenched in faux-innocence. 

Alyssa blushes. “Don’t be annoying.”

“No! Tell me,” Emma teases. “What was I thinking?”

“Something about how you knew you would be really good at this,” Alyssa laughs. “Maybe something about how you’ve thought about this?”

Emma tilts her head slightly, a renewed grin on her lips. “How’d you know?”

And that, well,  _ that _ sends heat where Alyssa really wishes it wouldn’t go right now. 

_ Emma has thought about this.  _

She blushes hard, the thought of Emma thinking of her like this, imagining what she would do, maybe awake in the dark, a hand wandering below the waistband of her sweats. Suddenly, her mind is filled with Emma on her back, arching forward into a touch, head thrown back against the pillow. 

Suddenly, she’s the one making her feel that way, is the one holding her close as she falls apart. She can imagine Emma writhing beneath her touch, how warm and wet she would feel against her fingers, how perfect she would taste. 

She can practically hear her name on Emma’s lips—

_ Fuck. Okay.  _

Alyssa squeezes her eyes shut and swallows again. 

“Something wrong?” Emma’s voice is rougher and deeper than normal. 

Alyssa grows hotter, if possible. 

“No,” she assures. Then, she speaks again, not sure what empowers her to admit such a thing as she mumbles, “I just… I’ve thought about this too.”

“You have?” Emma asks, clearly pleased and blushing herself. 

Alyssa hums in reply, biting her lip around a moan when Emma finally finds the spot that drives her crazy below her ear. 

Emma’s confidence returns at that. “Am I better?” 

Alyssa wracks her brain for what her best friend could possibly mean, but it’s really hard to focus when there’s suddenly a hand splayed out across the stomach, drawing patterns over her abs. 

“What do you mean?” she finally gasps. 

“Am I better than the me you thought about?” Emma smirks against her neck as she reaches higher under her top, fingers ghosting over her ribcage.

_ Oh.  _

_ Fuck.  _

“I’m not answering that,” Alyssa tries to refuse, mind suddenly zooming back to all the lonely nights in her bedroom, the ones where she couldn’t quiet her thoughts, the ones that still make her blush. She recalls some  _ really good _ dreams, recalls squeezing her eyes shut, recalls Emma’s name spilling from her mouth for the first time in the heat of euphoria and release. 

_ “Dream Me was better?”  _ Emma asks indignantly. 

“I didn’t say that,” Alyssa replies hotly. “I just said I wouldn’t answer!”

“Oh, so  _ Real Me _ is better, then,” Emma eggs her on. 

_ “I didn’t say that, either.”  _

Alyssa groans, a voice that suspiciously sounds like Shelby ringing in her ears:

_ When you’re digging a hole, you just keep digging— _

She’s seriously dug herself a hole in this moment. 

“Just tell me,” Emma complains, still smiling against her neck as she marks her skin again. 

“I don’t know, okay?” Alyssa whines back. “It’s not like we’re in my bed—”

She did not mean to say that aloud. 

“In your bed?” Emma raises an eyebrow at her. 

Alyssa squeezes her eyes shut. “Em—“

“Well then,” Emma laughs. “Dream Me gets around!”

“Shut up,” Alyssa groans. “It’s not—“

Emma shakes her head and cuts her off in a kiss. “Don’t be embarrassed,” she whispers. “I think it’s hot.”

“You do?” the woman asks quietly. 

“I do.” Emma nods. “Knowing you think about me like that is… wow.”

Alyssa seals their lips together again at that, laughing when Emma playfully nips at her bottom lip and presses her tongue back into it. Now, Emma tastes more like heat, more like lightning, still sweet as ever but more charged in her every movement. 

There’s adoration in every touch, in every breath that Emma passes into her lungs, in hazel eyes when the woman pulls back slightly to look at her, to move her gaze over her face. 

In this moment, Alyssa has a stray thought that she’s falling, that she already has. She’s unsure if she’ll remember this exact feeling, if it will continue to hold deep and heavy in her chest or if it will feel so different as time goes by. 

Still, she holds it tight in this moment, re-tangling her hands in Emma’s hair to keep her close. 

“I don’t want this to be like last time,” Emma tells her quietly. “I want this to change things.”

Alyssa’s pulse races at that. “Me too.” 

“Be mine?” Emma asks softly with a laugh. 

Alyssa rolls her eyes affectionately. “Of course, you dork.”

Emma sweeps her up into her arms, pulling her off the counter as Alyssa yelps and holds her around the shoulders. Emma’s nose is still pressed into her neck, almost as if she’s trying to memorize the beat of her heart. 

“I’m your dork, now, though,” Emma quips back. 

She twirls playfully, laughing when Alyssa whines her name and she grasps her tighter. 

“I want to return you,” she declares. “Put me down, Emma!”

Her heart is beating so quick in her chest, and already, Alyssa knows that what they are— what they will be— will be so much greater than anything she’s had before. 

Already, she knows that this is what love is supposed to feel like. 

“Nope,” Emma refuses. “I need to see if I’m better than Dream Me in bed.” 

Her eyes shine with mirth and satisfaction as Alyssa gapes at her for a moment. 

“You’re incorrigible,” Alyssa finally groans. 

“You love it,” Emma replies, a little breathless. She cranes her neck so that their noses are brushing once more, pressing a gentle kiss to the corner of her mouth. 

Alyssa opens her mouth to reply, but then, the timer on the oven goes off. Emma groans, about to let go of her hold on Alyssa’s thighs. Alyssa stops her, shaking her head. 

“It turns off on its own, remember?”

Emma grins up at her. “Right. I forgot you have a fancy oven.”

Alyssa swats her shoulder gently, faking annoyance. 

“My mom got it for me and you know it.”

“I never said it was a bad thing!” Emma protests. 

Alyssa glares at her, but there’s no heat to it. She’s honestly trying not to smile. Emma is so pretty, so good, and she can’t believe she’s the reason that there’s a flush on her cheeks, the reason that her hair is mussed and her gaze is darker than normal. 

Emma looks up at her in challenge, and Alyssa doesn’t back down at all. 

“I’ll let it slide,” she relents. “That is, if you’re going to take me to bed.” 

Emma almost drops her at that before she holds her tighter again. Her eyes widen as Alyssa stares back, clearly amused. 

“Careful,” the woman teases. “We wouldn't want Dream Emma one-upping you.”

Emma gapes. “Oh. That’s how it is?” 

Alyssa bites her lip, eyes teasing and affectionate as she looks down at her. 

“That’s how it is.” 

“Well then,” Emma whispers. “We better fix that then, huh?”

Alyssa shrugs. “Maybe.” 

“No, definitely,” Emma answers, throwing her over her shoulder and heading in the direction of the woman’s bedroom, smiling to herself when Alyssa giggles. 

“Have people ever told you you’re too competitive?” Alyssa asks breathlessly as Emma lays them both down, resting comfortable between her thighs and pulling a pillow down from the top of the bed so Alyssa has something to rest her head on. 

She leans down for another kiss, grinning into it, every moment, every breath, so clearly filled with adoration and care, with reverence and sureness. 

“Only a few.” 

**Author's Note:**

> so. what did you think? should i write what happens after (lmao)? let me know down in the comments/drop a kudo if you'd wanna read that. 
> 
> as always, if you wanna talk to me some more you can find me on tumblr @ifthebookdoesntsell. my askbox is always open to talk about food/greenelan/gayness. 
> 
> thanks for reading. be safe out there x


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